RESIDENTS of an Orpington street were left gasping in disbelief when they saw a four-ton Harrier Jump Jet parked in the front garden of number 128.

As soon as word got round, the astonished people of Hillcrest Road were out in force to photograph the aircraft, which is to feature in an advertisement for Kodak.

When Farana Mian got a knock on the door from a representative of Helen Langridge Associates advertising agency, she found it hard to believe the zany idea could be brought off.

She said: “What can I say? It is probably a once in a lifetime experience because you don't find a Harrier in your front garden every day.

“My son Sayed, who is 14, loves planes and is very excited indeed.”

She added: “The company also promised to pay for any damage they do to our garden, but we're not anticipating any problems.”

The plane will soon appear on the nation's TV screens when a boy's parents hand him a key to what he thinks is a car for an 18th birthday present.

But when he opens the front door he sees the Harrier in the front garden.

Art director Johnny Fitzgerald said: “The advert is what we are calling a magical moment.

“We found the house by knocking on the residents' doors and asking them if they would be interested in filming.”

The plane was brought to the road in large pieces and assembled by a special team in a four-hour operation.

Alan Morris works for a company called Locomotion which was in charge of bringing the plane to Orpington.

He said: “We provide all sorts of vehicles for film sets, including tanks and planes. I have been doing this job for years, but it is the most unusual thing I have been asked to do.”